LEXINGTON – Eastwood’s goal is to win the state championship.
The Eagle boys are doing virtually everything possible to turn their dream into a reality.
Their latest gem came Saturday when they won their second straight Division II regional title at
Lexington High School.
Eastwood qualified for state in six events – including the 400 relay where it finished first and the 110
hurdles where Crosby Schemenauer was second – and scored 72 1/2 points.
The Eagles, second in the state last season, easily beat runnerup Orrville with 56.
They’ll take six individuals and two relay teams to next weekend’s state meet at Ohio State University’s
Jesse Owens Stadium. The top four finishers in the regional qualified for state.
Eastwood qualified for the regional in 12 of the 17 events by winning the Oak Harbor district with 124
points.
The only events the Eagles didn’t make the regional were the 1,600, 3,200, 300 hurdles, and the 800 and
3,200 relays.
"I’m very proud of our team. Just to see the kind of effort we had today makes me proud,"
Eastwood coach Gary White said.
The Eagles nearly matched their regional point total of 79 last season. They scored 391/2 points at state
last season.
Eastwood’s performance was even more impressive because the region is the toughest of the four in the
state. Athletes who advance to state from Lexington usually do well at state.
"We had a great day," White said.
The Eagles’ 400 team of sophomore Taylor Depew, seniors Josh Hoodlebrink and Matt Schlumbohm, and junior
Cody Seifert won in 43.03.
"We ran well and had great handoffs," Seifert said. "We wanted to run 42 (seconds), but
we’re happy with the win."
Eastwood’s 1,600 team of seniors Jason Faykosh, Lucas Hoodlebrink, Josh Beaudoin and Josh Hoodlebrink was
third in 3:23.43.
Josh Hoodlebrink was nearly half a turn behind starting the final leg, but came back and gave Eastwood a
brief lead coming out of the final turn. Despite Hoodlebrink’s terrific anchor leg, Clyde won in 3:22.54
with Huron second just five one-hundreths of a second behind.
"I knew I had to go hard to catch us up, but I got tired at the end," Josh Hoodlebrink said.

Eastwood’s relay teams were put together for the first time before the district meet May 13.
Lucas Hoodlebrink has filled in well for sophomore Nick Twining in the 1,600 relay. Twining also
qualified for the regional in the 800, but didn’t compete because of a stress facture. He had a chance
to qualify for state in his event.
"I was so proud of our relays," White said. "We took the best of our best and put them
together, and the kids responded to the changes. We’re really proud of how they’ve come along and I
still think they have more in the tank."
Schemenauer, who won the pole vault Thursday, ran well in the 110 hurdles with a time of 15.00. Orrville
junior Sam Miller won in 14.55.
"The start was one of my best of the year and it carried through the entire race," he said.
"The race went well. I expected I’d be able to get out if I ran well and didn’t run a bad
race."
Schemenauer’s brother, Jack, was an All-Ohio hurdler in 2006 and 2007. Crosby Schemenauer was second in
the state pole vault last year.
"It’s fun to run the hurdles. I’ve done well in the pole vault, but I’ve also done well in the
hurdles," he said. "After being seventh in the regional last year, I knew I had a chance to
get to state this year. I just worked hard at it and it paid off."
Eagle junior Justin Welch finished third in the shot put after winning the discus Thursday.
Welch threw 55-9 3/4, well off his best of 61-1. He finished 14th in the event at state last year.
"I’m pretty disappointed," said Welch, the defending state champion in the discus and the
favorite to win this year. "I wanted to do better than that, but I’m going back to state. That’s
the good thing. My technique wasn’t as good as it should have been and that’s something I’ll need to
work out for state."
Seifert, who has been slowed by sore hamstrings in both legs all season, was third in the 100 in 11.15.

He just started running again within the last month and said he is about 95 percent healthy. He was third
in the 200 and fourth in the 100 at state last year.
"I didn’t know how the season would finish, so I’m really happy to get back to state," Seifert
said "My start was better than I’ve had in a while. I’m really happy, sky high about the way I
ran."
Hoodlebrink, who finished second in the long jump Thursday, failed to advance to state in the high jump
as he was seventh at 6-2. He finished tied for sixth at state last year.
Schlumbohm ran well, but missed qualifying for state in the 100 and the 200. He was fifth in the 200 in
22.35 and seventh in the 100 in 11.24